worldofvalisfandomcom-20200214-history
Gypsies of Varisia
History The Varisian wanderers, sometimes referred to as gypsies, do not believe in claiming land; they instead believe that the land is meant for exploration and socializing, which leads them to a nomadic life focused around traveling as much as possible. Over time, this has refined itself into major routes across the land hitting the most populous areas to entertain and meet new people. However, as all things tend to, this eventually became not enough for the primary families, many of whom had joined into the Sczarni crime syndicate and began using their travels as a way to move illegal goods, such as restricted magics and illicit drugs. As the centuries passed, the families organized their ranks and became quite efficient at what they do, with only the family stragglers being kept out of the know. Varisian families tend to grow wildly large, breaking into separate families with each female, though a dowry is almost always paid to the Masterminds of the family to marry a daughter or granddaughter, as it essentially represents hiring them into your own family’s operation. It also acts to forge alliances within the culture and is not taken lightly. Due to disregard for any birth control practices and few limiting factors such as housing, gypsy wives tend to have bountiful amounts of children, generally ranging from 2 to 6 each. Family Structure The Masterminds (eldest generation) Two generations above the youngest operators, the Masterminds are responsible for planning the routes and jobs the family will take and perform. The oldest male is the acting head of the family, but all members of this generation (even the women) participate in planning and often bark out orders to the younger family members. They also decide the share of any take by the family - which leads to a nice “retirement” kitty for themselves, of course. Should they live to see a 4th generation enter working age (as the life of a criminal wanderer can be quite dangerous), it is tradition that they pass the role on to their sons and daughters and move on with their lives, living off the wealth they’ve acquired. The Grifters (middle generation) Once a generation’s children have all reached working age, the parents leave the street operations and enter the grifter life, becoming the faces and charms that are responsible for bigger jobs. While the men can secure (often disreputably) business or transport contracts with unsuspecting workers and companies, the women work hard to maintain their beauty and allow them to abuse such assets to get what they need for a job. As Varisians tend to marry and bear children starting at a young age, this can last for quite a while before she is too old to be effective - at which point she will have either entered the eldest generation or work alternative offers. The Operators (youngest generation) Once a gypsy child reaches the age of 12, they are ‘officiated’ into the family by being given street responsibilities that young children can pull off - often moving shipments or using innocent-looking pranks to distract guards while the family pulls off a job. As they enter the teenage years, they can work slightly larger jobs - mass pickpockets at events, or (mainly females) luring vulnerable men into a full on robbery. The girls are known for their use of Varisian scarves to increase their alluring natural beauty and become irresistible to the tourists of towns they travel to. By age 16-20, most females will be married off and starting to raise children while the men continue to work jobs for the grifters. Major Families Due to the propensity to intermarry, the gypsy families have condensed into four major families: the Uphrati, the Sissila, the Marian, and the Yulatia. Leaving the Family A young member who wishes to leave the family is often scorned and kept in by force. When they are able to "sneak" out of it, whether by hiding their way onto a shipment or other means of getting far out of range of the family, a black mark is placed over their name in the family's grand genealogical scroll and they shall furthermore be regarded as an enemy of the family. Members of the family who are found to have aided the escapee are given a similar treatment.